Perkins Engines Company Limited
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| Subsidiary | |
| Industry | Manufacturing |
| Founded | 1932 |
| Headquarters | Eastfield, Peterborough, England |
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Area served
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Worldwide |
| Products |
Diesel engines Gas engines |
| Parent | Caterpillar Inc. |
| Website | http://www.perkins.com |
Perkins Engines (officially Perkins Engines Company Limited), a subsidiary of Caterpillar Inc., is primarily a diesel engine manufacturer for several markets including Agricultural, Construction, Material Handling, Power Generation and Industrial. It was established in Peterborough, England, in 1932. Over the years Perkins has expanded its engine ranges and produces thousands of different engine specifications including diesel and gas engines.
F. Perkins Limited, established on 7 June 1932, was founded in Queen Street, Peterborough, to design and manufacture high-speed diesel engines by Frank Perkins and Charles Wallace Chapman (1897–1979). Chapman was design engineer (technical director) and company secretary and was given a ten percent shareholding. He was to remain with the business for more than a decade before re-joining the RNVR though remaining a consultant to the company. Frank Perkins obtained further initial support from directors Alan J M Richardson and George Dodds Perks.
Before Chapman and Perkins the diesel engine was a heavy and slow revving workhorse, lacking performance. Chapman's concept was the high-speed diesel – an engine that could challenge gasoline as the primary motive power. The world’s first high-speed diesel engine was Perkins' four-cylinder Vixen, which made its debut in 1932, and in October 1935 Perkins became the first company to hold six world diesel speed records for a variety of distances set at the Brooklands race track in Surrey. Sales were strong and by the time of World War II the company made two series of engines, P4 and P6. Soon after the war, the company went public, and established a number of licensees for local manufacturing and sale.
F. Perkins Ltd was purchased by its largest customer, Massey Ferguson, in 1959. Keeping its separate identity, the business continued under the name of Perkins Engines and in 1994 became a subsidiary of LucasVarity. Development continued and Perkins updated its engines to meet stricter emissions rules while developing new series for power generation and forklift trucks.
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Wikipedia